


5 Memories Jake Has With His Dad

by Natalie_Carson



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Angst, Childhood, Fluff, Pre Show, poor jake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-26
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2019-06-16 12:14:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15436815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Natalie_Carson/pseuds/Natalie_Carson
Summary: 5 memories Jake has with his dad





	1. Chapter 1

Jake watched as the bus pulled up to his house. His dad was smiling, standing at the end of the driveway waiting just for him. When the bus came to a stop Jake came flying down the aisle from the back of the bus. “Have a good summer kid.” The bus driver said but Jake didn’t hear him as he was already giving his dad a big hug. 

“Officially a first grader.” His dad said after releasing him from a hug. “How does it feel to be all grown up.”

“Good.” Jake said as the two walked back down the driveway towards the house. “Are you going to be at my baseball game tomorrow? I’s the last one of the season.”

“Of course I’ll be there.” Roger said ruffling his kids curly hair. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“Can we practice batting?” Jake asked excitedly once the two were inside the house. His mom was not home and she wouldn't be for a little while now. 

“Yeah, grab your bat and I’ll met you in the backyard in like five minutes.” Roger said heading off to his room. Jake grabbed his bat out of the closet. Through the vents he could hear his dad talking and someone else responding. It was a women’s voice and he wondered if she was a friend of his moms.

He headed out to the backyard and watched as the women his dad had been talking to left the house. Just as soon as she left, his dad was outside and throwing the ball while Jake tried to hit it. 

He hit some of them which his dad caught and threw back to him. It went on like that until Jake missed one of the balls and it smacked him straight in the face. He immediately pulled his hand up to cradle his eye that was quickly turning black and blue. 

It didn’t take long before the tears started falling, very rapidly. Jake sat down on the ground never letting his hand leave his eye. Roger quickly ran over to the boy crouching down next to him. “You’re okay buddy.” He said shushing him ruffling his hair. “Can daddy see?” Roger asked in the kindest voice he could muster.

Slowly Jake pulled his hand away from his eye allowing his father to see the bruising around his eye from where the ball had hit. Roger reached up to touch it and Jake flinched away in pain. “It’s alright.” Roger said. “How about we go and get so ice cream?” He asked his kid. 

Jake smile beamed so bright at his father’s idea. Quickly he jumped up forgetting all about the bruise on his eye. He ran to his dad’s car and climbed into the backseat. His dad fastened him into the booster seat before getting in the driver's seat. 

“What’s this?” Jake asked his dad holding up an article of clothing with two half circles.

Roger looked at his son in the rearview quickly realizing what he was holding. “Oh that’s nothing, you can just put it down,”

“It’s squishy.” Jake yelled in delight as Roger turned around and snatched the bra from him throwing it down into the floorboard of the passenger seat. They went through the dairy queen line and each got a cone of ice cream.

When they got home Karen’s car was in the driveway. Jake walked inside the house and was met by his mother’s glare. “Where have you been?” She shouted. 

“We went to Dairy Queen.” Jake said licking his cone. 

His mom leaned down to meet his eye level. “Jake sweetie, I wasn’t talking to you.” HIs mom said to him in a way that indicated he was not in trouble. “Why don’t you go play with your trains.”

“Okay.” Jake exclaimed running off into the other room. He placed the tracks together to make something cool.

“Who the fuck were you with today?” He heard his mom say in the other room although he didn’t think much of it as he put his train on the track and starting moving it through the pretend town he had built.


	2. Chapter 2

“Are you ready?” His mom calls up the stairs to him. Quickly Jake runs down the stairs almost tripping but catching himself on the railing

“Yes!” He exclaimed running out the front door. “Where’s dad?” He asked as he climbed into the backseat.

“Dad’s already at the airport, remember he had to be there early?” Jake nodded watching the tall skyscrapers on the way to JFK. “Are you excited to go to Florida?” His mother asked him as they waited in line to check their bags.

“Yes!” Jake shouted on the top of lungs feeling energized after all the sugar he ate in preparation for the best vacation of his life. After weighing the bag the two got in line for security. “When will we see daddy?” Jake asked. 

“When we get on the plane.” His mother responded. “He was able to get us upgraded tickets, so we will be in the fancy seats.” she said. Jake smiled widely. 

The airport was bustling with activity, it was one of the largest airports in the country after all. Soon they found their gate, quickly taking a seat so they could be one of the first people to board. “Do you know what the movie will be?” Jake shouted at his mother who tried to push him in the crowded airport. 

“I have no idea what it will be.” she said to him

“I hope it’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. It’s the best movie ever made, nothing will ever be better than it!” Jake exclaimed on the top of his lungs earning looks from the people sitting nearby at the gate.

“Maybe.” Karen said to him as she pulled a book out of her carry on bag. She opened the pages and began to read quickly forgetting all about the seven year old boy sitting next to her. 

“Now boarding flight 386 services to Orlando. This is a reminder to all passengers that space in the overhead compartment may be limited and not guaranteed. If you would like to check your bag at the gate please see an associate. We now welcome sectors one and two to begin boarding.” Jake quickly tugged on his mother’s sleeve jumping to his feet ready to get on the plane.

Karen put her book back in her bag, pulling out the two tickets for the employees to scan. The line in the jet bridge was backed up and Jake anxiously bounced up and down unable to contain his excitement. 

Eventually they stepped on the plane and his dad was there welcoming passengers onto the plane. “Dad!” Jake shouted giving his dad a big hug.

“Hey buddy!” His dad said as Karen moved around the two to go to their seats. “Are you ready to go Florida?” He asked. “We’re going to have a lot of fun aren’t we?”

“Yeah!” Jake said laughing. “I want to go to Disney world and ride Space Mountain.”

“I guess we’ll have to measure you to make sure you can get on.” Jake scrunched his face up in dislike.

“Roger!” Karen shouted from several rows back. “He needs to get here and get settled.” 

“I guess you have to go.” Roger said to Jake.

“But I don’t want to. Oh can I sit in there with you?” Jake asked pointing at the cockpit. “Me and you can fly the plane together.”

“As cool as that would be, I don’t think we can do that.” Roger said

“Man.” Jake said as his mom ushered him back into their seats. Everyone had already gotten on the plane and was ready to take off. Jake sat down in the window seat pulling up the blind allowing the sunlight to seep into the plane. 

He watched as his dad talked to the flight attendant laughing at something she said and reaching out to touch her arm. They must have been pretty good friends. The girl looked at his dad the way Rebecca Brown looked at him, and his dad said that Rebecca was in love with him.

Soon that same girl was going through all the safety protocols and demonstrating how to fasten a seat belt. Jake looked over at his mom who had already gone back to reading. There was a bing in the plane and above him the seatbelt light flashed on. “This is your captain speaking.” His dad said over the loudspeaker. Jake grabbed onto his mother’s sleeve in excitement trying to get her attention.

“Today’s flight conditions are looking good and we should be in Orlando in less than three hours.” There was a pause as the plane began to taxi out of the runway. Jake looked out the window at the tiny people below holding flags and walking backwards with the plane. “Now today’s flight is a very special flight for me, both my wife and my son are on board today.” the people in first class began to applaud and Jake’s smile grew larger than he even knew was possible.

The plane began to speed up down the runway and the only thing Jake could think about was that this was the coolest rollercoaster he had ever been on. Once they were in the air he watched as all those massive skyscrapers began to seem smaller and smaller. 

At Orlando, Karen and Jake met back up with Roger at baggage claim. “Can I wear your hat?” Jake asked his father who took it off his head and sat it on Jake’s. After rubbing their bags they headed out into the heat of Orlando in the middle of July. Palm trees stretched out as far as one could see. “When I get older, I’m going to move down here.”

“Oh yeah?” Karen asked. “What happened to ‘I’m never going to leave New York City.”’

“I changed my mind, I’m going to move down here and love it. I’ll marry someone and we’ll spend every day on the beach, maybe I’ll be a professional surfer.”

“Sounds like you got quite big plans there.” Roger said. 

Jake nodded. “It’s the best state in the entire friggin country!” Jake exclaimed before running off in the direction of the rental car leaving his parents to chase after him.


	3. Chapter 3

“I saw you with her!” Jake could hear his mom yell from down the stairs. “You weren’t exactly being sneaky!” Jake grabbed his pillow and buried his face in it begin for the screaming to stop.

“If you’re so pissed about it why don’t we just get a divorce.” Jake shut his eyes tightly. The D word. That was the last word any kid wanted to hear. 

His mom was silent for a second. “We have a child together. Think about Jake.” 

“I am thinking about Jake! What kind of childhood is that where his parents are constantly bickering?”

“Well maybe if you would keep it in your pants we wouldn’t be constantly fighting. And don’t tell me you were thinking about Jake. I know for a fact that you’ve had women over when he’s home.”

Jake finally got out of bed. He tiptoed down the stairs until he was almost in the kitchen. Hiding behind the wall he could see both of his parents. His mom was pacing around the kitchen like she always did when she was anxious. “I just don’t see how you could be this clueless.” She said her voice way more calm than it had been just two minutes ago.

That seemed to set something off in his dad. Jake watched as his dad lunged at his mom sharply grabbing her by the shoulders. He shook her violently several times before his eyes landed on Jake. Almost instantly he dropped her “Hey buddy. Whatcha doing?” 

Jake stepped out of doorway. “Nothing.” he said feeling like he had just been caught red handed doing something he shouldn’t have been. 

His mom moved out of the kitchen and came to kneel in front of him. She ruffled his hair with a hand. “Go back to bed Jakey. Mommy and Daddy are fine, just having an argument.”

“Are you going to get divorced?” Jake asked the tears brimming his eyes. 

“Sweetie no.” His mom said frowning slightly. “We were just fighting. It’s normal. Healthy even. So go back to bed and don’t worry about it okay?” Jake nodded his head before retreating back up the stairs.

He laid in his bed and closed his eyes. They were still screaming downstairs and he wasn’t able to ignore them anymore. The look of fear on his mom’s face and anger on his dad’s was burned into his memory. He wasn’t sure he believed in God but he prayed nonetheless. He prayed that his mom would be okay and that his parents would stay together. He didn’t understand that only one of those things could come true.


	4. Chapter 4

Jake punched in the garage code on the keypad while Gina rocked back and forth on her feet. “How’s it feel to be a fifth grader?” Gina asked feeling all high and mighty being in the sixth grade. 

“Shut up.” Jake said to her making a nasty face that he wasn’t able to hold for more than two seconds. 

Why aren’t we going to Nana’s?” Gina asked. “I really don’t feel like babysitting you.”

“Mom said we could come back here that Nana was busy today.” The door slowly opened and the two walked into the garage. 

“Oh my gosh!” Gina exclaimed her mouth droping wide open. 

“What?” Jake asked before looking to where Gina was staring. Sure enough the back glass of his dad’s car was fogged up and it appeared that his dad was in there with Sheila, his mom’s best friend.

“Let’s go.” Gina said dragging him by the arm out of the garage. Jake’s legs seemed to go numb underneath him as Gina practically dragged him all the way to his bedroom where he threw himself down on the bed. Jake grabbed his pillow and screamed into it for what felt like a solid ten minutes. “Oh. My. Gosh.” Gina said a look of horror on her face. “We need to start going over to Nana’s all the time.”

Jake rocked back and forth on his bed not really sure what to say. The picture of the two of them in the backseat was burned into his memory. He was never going to be able to ride in that car again. 

“I’m never going to be able to have sex in a car now.” Gina said laughing. “All I’ll be able to think about is your dad.” She was full on laughing at this point. The sound of the amusement in her voice made something in Jake snap.

“Stop laughing! It’s not funny.” He yelled at her standing up. “This is serious. My dad was just having sex with someone that wasn’t my mom! Why can’t I have normal parents like Johnny?” Jake threw himself back down on his bed going back to screaming into his pillow. 

“Everybody wishes they had normal parents.” Gina said sitting down next to him on his bed. He flinched away slightly when she rested a hand on his arm. “Life sucks sometimes.” She finally said unsure of anything else she could possibly say.

“Yeah.” Jake agreed.

The two sat there together in complete silence. All Jake could do was play the scene in his mind over and over again. It was like being at the movie theatre with a broken reel. Eventually they heard the sound of a car sounding in the garage. Gina moved to the window and watched as the car pulled away with both Jake’s dad and Sheila inside it. “Do you want to watch Ghostbusters?” She asked. 

Jake nodded as the two moved back down the living room. After the movie Gina went back home leaving Jake alone in the empty house with nothing but his thoughts. Soon there was the sound of the front door unlocking. Then the sound of someone stumbling into the house. 

Jake walked into the entryway to see his father clearly drunk stumbling around trying not to fall. Jake had half a mind to tell him off. To yell and scream at him. To stick up for his mom. But instead he passed by his dad and went back upstairs to his room. 

That night as he laid awake praying for sleep he heard them screaming again. “You’re the worst man on the fucking planet. I wish I’d never pregnant and had to marry you. I wish that I had never even met you!”

“Oh yeah? Well here. I’ll fix all of your problems.” There was a slamming of a door and then the yelling stopped. After a couple more minutes of silence Jake was finally able to go back to sleep completely unaware that his dad had just walked out of the house for the last time.


	5. Chapter 5

“I can’t believe I’m about to get married!” Jake exclaimed to Charles as he finished tying his tie. He looked at himself in the mirror and honestly swore that he had never been more happy. Although he knew that he would be in just twenty short minutes when he stood under that altar and watched Amy walk down the aisle. His heart swelled at just the mere thought.

“I know!” Charles exclaimed “I can’t believe that I am getting to be your best man.”

“Wouldn’t want anyone else to do it.” Jake said half shocked to hear those words coming out of his mouth. If someone told him Charles would be his best man when they first met Jake would’ve burst out laughing. Then again the same could be said for marrying Amy. Fate is a funny thing. 

“Peralta a word?” Holt asked poking his head into the briefing room which had become a changing room. Jake nodded before walking out of the room and following Holt into his office. “Have a seat.” Jake sat down there was a small part of his brain that was panicking. He couldn’t help but remember all the conversations that started this way, Florida, Prison, the mafia, each one of them ending with him and Amy not together. 

“What’s up?” Jake asked nervously. He was trying not to sweat but his hands were starting to get kind of clammy. 

Holt looked down at his desk for a minute as if he was trying to compose himself. Jake’s mind was spiraling a million miles an hour. His heart was doing somersaults inside his chest. “Captain what’s wrong? I need you to just tell me. Rip the band aid off. Please.” Jake said unable to take another minute of this pure tortue. 

“There’s nothing wrong.” Holt said looking up from his desk to meet the eyes of the detective. “I just wanted to tell you that I’m proud of you.” His words came out fast as if he was afraid to say them.

“You’re proud of me?” Jake asked choking slightly on his words. “I don’t understand.”

“I’m proud of you.” Holt said more confidently this time. “When I met you I didn’t think you would last long. Too tangled up in your work and not taking things seriously. But I’ve seen you grow into someone who i’m proud to say I got to manage.”

Jake’s eyes shifted around Holt’s desk not sure exactly what to say. Or if he could even say anything. The lump in his throat was so big that words may not even be an option. “Thank you.” He finally said not looking directly at Holt.

“I’m not sure how exactly you tricked Santiago into agreeing to marry you. But I’m glad you did.” Jake laughed out loud. Even he himself wasn’t sure how he managed to get her to fall in love with him. Probably his dashing good looks. “I think you picked a good one.”

“Thank you sir. You don’t know how much that means to me.”

“I will say though that I’m very upset that you didn’t have to be told twice to put on a tie today. Took me weeks to instil that into you, but you didn’t even have to be told today.”

Jake laughed again but then cringed remembering the very embarrassing photo all of his coworkers had of him on their computers. Yep. That was definitely going to show up in a slide show at some point during the reception. Holt stands up from his desk and Jake gets up from the chair. “If it’s my turn now, I would just like to say thank you for everything you’ve done for me. I don’t think I would be standing here if it wasn’t for you. Even though I hate to admit, you changed me and I do feel like a better person.”

Holt smiled, at least what Jake thought was a smile, before pulling him into a hug. Jake hesitated at first but then wrapped his arms around the man. “I love you son.”

“I love you too dad.”


	6. Chapter 6

Amy was fast asleep when Jake woke up to the sound of crying. She had her head buried into the pillow hair sprawled out all around her. She was the most gorgeous sight he had ever seen. Well second gorgeous. The little infant that was crying had quickly stolen her spot. Although she was still a close second.

Jake stood up from the bed and quickly made his way into his son’s room. “Hey little guy.” He whispered picking Ben up from the crib. “What’s wrong?” He asked rocking him back and forth in his arms. Ben continued to cry and Jake felt his heart breaking for him.

Jake sat down in the rocking chair after changing his diaper. He started rocking back and forth begging him to go back to sleep. “It’s okay. Daddy’s here. I know you wish mommy was here, but she’s sleeping, just like you should be.” Jake whispered. He pulled him up closer to his chest and held him tightly right above his heart. Amy had read about it in some parenting book when she was pregnant. There was even a section about it in the binder, and if it was in the binder than Jake knew it was official.

It seemed to work as Ben’s cries became softer and softer until they were pretty much non existent. Ben reached up with his little things and tightly gripped Jake’s thumb. Jake pursed his lips together tightly. Never in his life had he been more happy. And no he wasn’t embarrassed to say that he cried a little. 

Jake watched Ben’s eyes began to flutter close until they stayed closed, his fingers still tightly wrapped around Jake’s thumb. “I love you.” Jake whispered to his sleeping son. “And so does your mommy. I promise you that we are never ever going to leave you. Ever. Someday you’ll want to play baseball or soccer maybe basketball whatever you want kid. But me and you, we’ll go out and practice until the sun goes down. Then we can go get ice cream, and maybe mom will be mad we ruined dinner but I’ll take the blame. Eventually you’ll have a little brother or maybe even a sister that you can run around with. Just whatever you do don’t ask for a dog. It’s a big world kid and I can’t wait to show it to you. Cause I’m going to be here every step of the way.”

Jake gently stood up from the chair and put Ben back in the crib praying to God that he wouldn’t wake up when he let go of his hand. Much to his relief he didn’t and Jake was able to go back to his room.

He was surprised when walking in to see Amy sitting up in the bed baby monitor pressed to her ear. She smiled at him when he walked in. Jake quickly threw himself back in their warm bed. Amy moved to rest her head on his chest and wrap her arms around his torso. “So you want to have another one?” She asked.

“Yeah.” Jake said cautiously scared to death that Amy didn’t want to after spending nine months carrying Ben. “Do you?”

“Yeah. Just not...now.” Amy said. Jake laughed as he tightened his grip around Amy.

“No. Not now of course not. I was thinking a couple of years.” He could feel Amy nod against him. 

“I hope he gets a sister.”

“Me too.” 

“Thank you.” Amy whispered. “For being the best husband and father possible.”

“Thank you for being the best wife and mother. We really do make a great team.”

“Yeah we do.” Amy said before the two of them started laughing. It didn’t take long though for sleep to take over the deprived parents.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, feedback is greatly appreciated :) If anyone has any prompts find me on Instagram or Tumblr @natnatcarson, or just leave them in the comments.


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